Wood River times. [volume] (Hailey, Idaho) 1882-1915, 1887-05-18

" fame of one who.
winning many victories, never lost the life of a
man through a blunder; who lived beloved Nv
the brave fellows at his back, and died lamentei
leaving his monument in the hearts of his sol.
diers, Modest, silent and strangely solitary he
left the record of his deeds to the keeping of the
brave men who made those deeds possible No
press reporter made his headquarters n sourca Of
noisy eulogy; no political party used his name in
return for partisan favors. SUSPECTED nv the
government he did 50 much to save he died neg
lected by the very men whose tenure Of power he
had made secure.
Thomas himself modestly believed that the
success of an army depends more on the drill
and discipline of the men than the ability of
their officers. He was heard to say: "Tbe
brave men l drilled and cared for, the men
whose confidence | won, made me all can
claim to be as commanders
Col. Piatt gives some new and ORIGINAL
views on West Point, which, as a curiosity, if
nothing else, are worth quoting. He saws il
was not what West Point taught Gen.
Thomas, but what West Point failed TO teach
upon which he afterward graduated into
greatness. The defects of the school first
called his attention to more i'll our military
system, and then study enabled him, while in
the war, to call order out of chaos, and create
an army that was irresistible in the field.
West Point! This academy" says the uufalter
ing llatt. lis little school on the Hudson popu-
larry supposed to produce military men, AS war
is not science hardly an art one is puzzled to
know how it can be taught; and even if it could
be, the learned professors would find themselves
troubled as all learned professors are to create
the mind necessary to apply tee science after the
teaching. OF thousand pupils most admirably
instructed in law or physic, one ouly is capable
OF using the information gained.
'lhere Is popular superstition TO the effect
in 20 ..,nf
active use of memory mind is actually created
anu OF the Thousand, all are capable of being
lifted to the same intellectual level People can
not comprehend nor be made to believe that in
any school the same inequality prevails that OBJ
tains in common life. The many are stupid: the
few alone are thoughtful. We are well aware OF
the fact that man may be taught all that science
anu art can contribute and yet remain a fool IL
is not the accumulation of facts that gives intel
lectual power, but the ability to the informa-
tion so obtained.
There is a mystery in the public mind about
West Point that would be utCrous did il not
carry such grave consequences. 1t is believed
that through some unknown and unknowable
process of education the little academy gradu.
ates Napoieons every year. The ancient chest
nut which tells us of the machine that takes in
swine and turns out sausage has its parallel in
what is believed of West Point Raw youths
whose lack of natural ability would cause one to
doubt the propriety of making them clerks in
country stores, are captured by members of con-
gress and in few years graduate into Office
where the lives Of men and perhaps the safety Of
the country depend on their ability.
THE mystery is readily solved. There Is moth
ing taught at West Point that differs from the
teaching of any other academy of Ike preten-
sions save the training of the soldier and therein
lies the most ludicrous feature OF the whole af
fair. There Is nothing in the training Of the sol